La Nopalera

Mediocre Mexican American food. I will not be coming back. Definitely not authentic. However margaritas were on point.

Love this place! I also love Mexican food quite a bit. I am a creature of habit, as I have said before. I normally always get the chicken fajitas, with NO complaints. You get so much food for such a small price! I will have to post photos the next time I stop in of there well put together meals. :)

The infamous Nop! Hablan español muy bien. Go hungry, leave feeling like you were hit by a truck. A truck of cheese! Friendly, delicious and atmospheric — everything you could want from your neighborhood Nopalera.

Seated promptly, and served chips and salsa. The salsa really just tasted like tomato purée’ and jalapeños. Hot, but no real flavor.
Ordered beef taco, beef enchilada, rice and beans. Enchilada sauce was reminiscent of spaghetti sauce. Didn’t taste like straight up spaghetti sauce, but on the verge.
Taco was bland, no real seasoning. Salsa helped. Rice and beans were OK.
Prices were very reasonable.
Service was very slow. It looked like the bartender was also waiting all the tables. He brought the food out very quickly, but then he never came back. I had to wave him down to get the check.
Overall, OK food, low prices, slow service. I might eat here again, but would not go out of my way.

I’m sorry to say but the only thing that was good … Was the sweet tea … Not the food! Yes, the restaurant appeared clean but there was a not so pleasant odor of wet soured mop as soon as you walked in. Being our first time here and hearing good things we went ahead and sat down. As the wait staff was nice, but the food was not. Not hot, it was warm, not flavorful, my friends taco salad had a pool of what appeared to be water/​oil in it and she said no flavor, she add what they called salsa to it to give it flavor. But to her dismay it did not help. Sorry would not recommend.

I hate to be the one that soils the reputation of this place, but it needs to be done!
First of all, we walked into the aroma of fresh poopoo or dukay, which the waiter blamed on the neighbor? I’m not sure but I can tell you the food was on about the same level of grossness… my boyfriends california burrito was inedible. There were three inch chunks of green onion in there, I’ve never seen anything like it. As a native Californian, he was insulted.
My food, the pollo loco, was edible, but definitely nothing to write home about. I had half of it left and didn’t get a to go box, if that tells you anything. And just so you know, I always take home my left overs.
Anyway, don’t waste your time at this place. Pretty gross. Way better food and prices at the taco truck at the corner of beach Blvd and peach Street. Go there instead. It’s delicious.

We enjoyed a quick school night low cost dinner here after running out of any other idea. We were pleasantly surprised, the chips were thin and fresh, fresh salsa, very friendly service and the food was tasty and fresh. The carnitas was crunchy and great, twice as much as I could eat but lots of fresh veggies and cilantro. The corn tortillas were fresh and extra hot. The water was actually good too! Most restaurants in this price range serve chlorine water. We are so happy we found this place. With a 12 and 13 yr old we are always looking for easy week night options.

We have been to just about every La Nopalera town and this one at the beach has turned out to be the best.

Three words: Chicken Fajita Quesadilla. Order it with the big Dos Equis and a twist of lime. This place is always a good time. Plus they are huge Jags fans. What else can you ask for?

Recommended for all living people to dine in at this exact location, next to beach and amazing food!!!

This is my favorite La Nopalera. Not because the food is better than other locations: it’s the same. I like this place so much because they put up with my shenanigans.
La Nopelara has become a mainstay of Jax Beach for me. When I’ve had a few too many brewskis at the beach or Mangos, La Nop is there to funnel Mex Mex into my system bringing me back down to a reasonable level of sobriety.
If you read through my other reviews, you’ll know my favorite dish is the tacos al pastor. They are on point here. The pork is always to tender, smoky and savory. It’s delicious with the fresh onions and cilantro. The fajita quesadillas are a close second. They are chock full of fajita steak or chicken with green onions and peppers. They are a deal at $ 5.95. It’s really hard to go wrong. The food is consistent, and everything I’ve ordered has been good.
The drinks are cheap here. I usually get a gigantic 32oz Dos Equis, which only sets me back 4 bucks. The margaritas are good as well. 12 oz are $ 4, but the 16oz size is only $ 4.95 which is a much better deal.
The waiters are awesome. They are quick with your food or drink orders, and always seem like they are having a good time.

Mexican restaurants are dime a dozen these days. They range from food trucks slinging $ 2 tacos to the over done places charging $ 15 for guacamole. My question is why? The old joke is: whats the difference between a taco, burrito, enchilada, fajitas, and so on? NOTHING. It’s all the same ingredients arranged differently! I don’t care who put it together!
That being said, there is a simple criteria I grade Mexican restaurants on. Is it cheap? Check. Are the salsa and chips fresh? Check. Can I order by the number? Check. Is it fast. You betcha.
La Nopalera satisfies all my criteria. And its consistent! Never had a wrong order or waiting more than ten minutes for my food. And I go here a lot. More than I’m willing to «check-​in» for. I’m actually starting to pick up Spanish and like soccer. Could be a side effect of all the salsa.
The staff is awesome here. The majority are transplants from other La Nop locations. The owners are hard workers, always behind the bar or at the cash register ringing you up. Come in here for a quick meal or stay awhile for a 32 oz Dos Equis and a California burrito. Doesn’t get much better than here.
⁴⁄₅. Would give 5 stars but I don’t wanna offend anyone that obsesses over «gourmet» mexican food.

Excellent Food. We ge to go here often and though I prefer Taco Lu sometimes I want some things they don’t have or don’t want to deal with the wait. The food here is tasty and fresh. An easy number 2 for Mexican food at the beach.

This local neighborhood mexican restaurant is great and only blocks from where i live. I’m usually there about once every week to two weeks. The service is great and very prompt. Waiters are fast to greet you and take your drink orders along with an immediate delivery of chips and salsa. I’ve never been disappointed with the food or service. Even when you order your food to go they give you a generous size of chips and salsa with your order. Margarita’s are super yummy too!

Well since the only reviews for this place are obviously from employees, I thought I’d add a real patron’s perspective. We went in last night and the hostess was incredibly RUDE, the table was sticky, the clientele were there to be seen and the server didn’t show up. We left! (…and we’re pretty sure women of the night came in as we were leaving.) Don’t take your kids, certainly.

How have I not reviewed this place yet! I’m here at least once a week. I’ve always been a La Nop type of gal, choosing to go there instead of Casa Marina. I don’t know what it is; I mean the food is universally the same but there’s something about La Nop that makes me choose it. Mexican food never gets old for me. The managers are so awesome and they’re really running a lively joint. The servers are hilarious and really attentive. There’s always a good amount of people occupying the joint during the week and on the weekend it’s your fiesta! I’ve caught myself just hanging out here until they close instead of going to other bars. Yummy food, you can’t go wrong!.

There are hardly words for how excited I am to tell you my opinion of La Nopalera. Of course I am giving this restaurant five stars. It is clean, the staff is great, the food is great and it is in a college students budget.
The staff at La Nop (nickname) are probably the friendliest group of people. They treat each person like they are family, but they still know how to keep it professional. I have gone with several groups of people. They treated my «no-​nonsense family» just as well as they treated my «crazy» friends. That is something I truly love to see in a restaurant.
La Nop is clean. The floor is clean, the bussers are quick, even when the chef puts the food on the plate, he does it neatly. I LOVE IT.
The meals are cheap… not so cheap that you begin to wonder what you are actually eating, but cheap enough to know they are giving you quality food and not charging you Hollywood prices.
I can’t really talk much about the bar, as I have only had a sample of the margaritas before. It’s easy to tell that the bar tender over poured a bit with the tequila, but where is the complaint in that? I will have to go back to see if it was an occasional over pour or if they need to start doing a liquor count! There is a full bar in the restaurant, with TV’s on the back wall. The bar seats do fill up quick but there are tables all around that the servers will happily bring drinks to.
PS: It’s addicting, so don’t worry about what you order, because you will be back to try more and more.
This review is for the La Nopalera on 3^rd street in Jacksonville Beach, I have yet to go to the one on Hodges. I will have to cross the ditch sometime to review it for you all.